Question about Proferrin and constipation

[Barb1]

@MajorMom or any other vitamin guru’s.

Can I ask what you can take with Proferrin ES? I take one in the AM and one in the PM per Dr. K. It says it can be taken with food but what about other prescription drugs or vitamins? I am also having very hard stools to the point that today I had some bleeding. Do you are anyone else have any suggestions? Dr K said up the fat but I don't have any appetite and other than my 2 protein shakes a day (total 96 grams) I maybe get in a yogurt and some type of cheese I have no idea why I have no idea what happened to my appetite. I am not lactose intolerant. It has been 6 months since my surgery with Dr. K. I also follow Vita lady's plan except I only take proferrin and I buy most vitamins on Amazon and at vitamin Shoppe. I take Citracal petites for calcium. Also I take Biotin A as En suggested. Also I just ended a 2 week round of Flagyl. The Flaygl was because I was having terrible smelling run down the leg diarrhea and gas. Attached labs that should be easier to read. http://bariatricfacts.org/threads/lab-results-so-for.748/

 

[KathyF]

Your vitamin A is way too low. How much are you taking? What is your D and PTH like? Low calcium and high Alkaline Phosphatase makes me suspect that your PTH is high.

Can't answer your question about proferrin, but maybe add some coconut oil to your protein shakes? You can also try taking a stool softener. Taking some magnesium oxide can help too.

 

[Barb1]

Kathy thank you. I am taking Biotech A-25 (25000 IU) 4 per day. I know my Vitamin A is to low but I was unable to get vitamins in until the last few weeks. My iron is not good either. I have the orders now for the labs that where not drawn. I plan on having them drawn sometime this week. The results of my Dexa Scan just came in and it reads as follows.

DATE: Feb 20, 2014 01:52:00 PM
HISTORY: Postmenopausal. Osteoporosis screening
BONE DENSITOMETRY OF THE LUMBAR SPINE:
FINDINGS: The bone mineral density of L1-L4 was assessed by
dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The average bone mineral density
within this region is 0.865 gm/cm2. This is 0 standard deviations
same as the mean of the average bone mineral density for age- and
gender-matched subjects (the "Z-score"). It is 1.7 standard
deviations below the mean peak bone mineral density in young adults
(the "T-score").
SUMMARY: THE BONE MINERAL DENSITY OF THE LUMBAR SPINE IS MILDLY
DECREASED CONSISTENT WITH MODERATE OSTEOPENIA BUT DOES NOT MEET WHO
CRITERIA FOR OSTEOPOROSIS.
BONE DENSITOMETRY OF THE TOTAL LEFT HIP:
FINDINGS: The bone mineral density of the total left hip was assessed
by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The average bone mineral density
within the total hip region is 0.866 gm/cm2. This is 0.5 standard
deviations above the mean of the average bone mineral density for
age-and gender-matched subjects (the "Z-score"). It is 0.6 standard
deviations below the mean peak bone mineral density in young adults
(the "T-score").
SUMMARY: THE BONE MINERAL DENSITY OF THE TOTAL LEFT HIP IS NORMAL.
BONE DENSITOMETRY OF THE LEFT FEMORAL NECK:
FINDINGS: The bone mineral density of the femoral neck was assessed
by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The average bone mineral density
within the femoral neck region is 0.681 gm/cm2. This is 0.1 standard
deviations below the mean of the average bone mineral density for
age-and gender-matched subjects (the "Z-score"). It is 1.5 standard
deviations below the mean peak bone mineral density in young adults
(the "T-score").
SUMMARY: THE BONE MINERAL DENSITY OF THE LEFT FEMORAL NECK IS MILDLY
DECREASED CONSISTENT WITH MODERATE OSTEOPENIA BUT DOES NOT MEET WHO
CRITERIA FOR OSTEOPOROSIS..

 

[KathyF]

Glad you have your A. Hopefully you will show improvement when you get it tested again. If I am reading the results right, looks like your Dexa scan shows that your bone density is normal for your age.

 

[Barb1]

@KathyF That is kinda of why I have put off the others lab work. I have also have had a cough and it wakes me up and the only way it stops to get back to sleep is Mucinex cough syrup or cough drops. That screws up the whole fasting thing up. Dr k wants A and iron checked at the end of April so I might just wait until then. I am getting in 50,000 IU of Bioteck dry D-3 a day also. I will get some magnesium oxide too.

 

[MajorMom]

I would switch to Vitalady's calcium citrate only capsules and move away from the Citracal. Those things are murder on my system, too many fillers in them I guess. I had osteoporosis and Vitalady had me try 3600mg of calcium a day, a magnesium citrate capsule with each dose, and a boron table with each dose. In addition to those, 4 capsules of vitamin K2 and enough D3 to bring my levels up to 100 or so.

When I was trying to bring my vitamin A up, I was taking 100K of Vitalady's A (palmitate) with 2 of those being in the middle of the night away from everything else. It only took a few months to bring my stubborn A up and I was able to cut back and then stop the A for a year.

When I was bring up my iron and ferritin, I was taking Vitalady's Tender iron tablets (not the new capsules) and getting 288mg of carbonyl iron. I took 2 Proferrin at bedtime with my sleep pill and an antacid. If you are only taking 2 Proferrin a day it's likely not nearly enough. I see on the bottle that 3 a day is ok even for a normie so you can see that we likely need more like 6 a day to keep us normal.

You might want to ask about adding some potassium to your daily vitamin batches. I take OTC 900mg a day. You can also add some low sodium V8 juice and switch to Morton's Lite Salt.

Looks like 5 - 6 protein shakes are in order to help you bring those protein and albumin numbers up quickly.

 

[Munchkin]

First thing I would do is back off the iron until my digestive tract was back to 'normal'. Wait a couple days then add in the iron once a day. If all remains OK, then go back to both doses. If this doesn't work you need a different iron pill!

 

[Sheanie]

Proferrin is not constipating for me. I know this because I've done a vitamin elimination and discovered calcium is my only constipator. Once I had that info, I started taking 2 Magnesium Oxide capsules with each of my 4 calcium doses. I also eat prunes with the calcium. Upping my fat only gave me really bad cramps. I can actually FEEL the calcium blocks moving through my system, and they are painful without my counter measures.

Constipation is also an appetite-killer. That's your body's way of protecting itself, IMO.

A couple things can get you back to normal. First, start the magnesium oxide and continue to drink LOTS of water to help it work. (Keep taking mag ox long term, also) Then, if you're not already, walking or light exercise can get things moving, and also triggers your appetite and thirst. And if you have never made them, try the Fat Bomb recipe. I make it with Nutella instead of peanut butter and honey. I keep them in the freezer and eat them late at night before bed, when I start feeling blocked. I used to stop my calcium for a day to let things clear out, but now instead just do the Fat Bombs.

 

[southernlady]

And if you have never made them, try the Fat Bomb recipe. I make it with Nutella instead of peanut butter and honey. I keep them in the freezer and eat them late at night before bed, when I start feeling blocked. I used to stop my calcium for a day to let things clear out, but now instead just do the Fat Bombs.

I love fat bombs but I put a pat of butter in my morning coffee now. since I have two cups, I end up using two pats of butter right there.

 

[Barb1]

@KathyF @MajorMom @Munchkin @Sheanie @southernlady

I want to thank all of you for your replies. I am sorry for not replying earlier. Life, family drama, and trying to deal with constipation/diarrhea have just got me down. I am trying to adjust my vits as per some of the recommendations given. I am trying to figure out how I am going to afford all of this. If I drank 6 protein shakes a day it would cost me about $ 225.00 a month just for the only protein powder I can take. The only one that agrees with me is Now Whey Isolate. It is the only one I can find with absolutely no artificial sweeteners in it. I am allergic to all of them including Stevia which isn’t considered artificial because it comes from a plant. Now Whey protein costs about $ 70.00 for a 5lb tub. Now you add all the extra iron, A plus the normal regimen and it boggles my mind.

All I can I advise to people who are considering if this surgery is you had better consider the cost. I remember I was told the same thing but wasn’t too worried at the time. Now add retirement and the extra problems, travel for yet another surgery, and now this. Think really hard about what might become even added costs people is all I can say. This not only affects your health but your mental health to. It affects your family in ways you wouldn’t have thought of before hand.

That being said I really didn’t have a better choice since I was a revision. I am lucky I don’t work because there is no way I could keep a job. I am hoping that things will change when my labs are where they should be. The surgery with Dr.K was a success. It just seems to take my body a much longer time to heal. I can eat now and things are staying down and digesting. I still don’t have much of an appetite and I am not able to eat very much at a time so it is hard to get calories in. I have finally leveled off in my weight and stopped loosing. I am at 155lbs and now measure 5’4” height. Go figure that one because I have always been 5’6”.

Thank you again!

 

[MajorMom]

I guess $70 for 5 pounds is about right. {sigh} I spend about $35 for 2 pounds of Syntrax Nectar and hubby and I both use protein powders so it adds up. The good thing is we don't have to spend a lot on groceries because I eat so little and he's low carbing with me. It would really be expensive if we were buying lunch out every day the way we used to.

You make some very valid points and I hope you can make the adjustments. Perhaps as the years go on you'll be able to absorb more from food and won't have to depend quite so heavily on shakes. Wishing you all the best.

 

[Sheanie]

@Barb1 , I often forget that I used to spend more than $75 per week just on myself on junk food. McDonalds, Burger King, Pizza Hut, Tim Hortons, and I could easily polish off a big bag of Dove milk chocolates in one night. When I consider those expenses, my $70 per 5# jug of protein powder is tiny.

I remember how miserable and ready to die I was before my DS. I literally had made peace with death.

 

[brooklyngirl]

Barb- I had a convo with my sister last night about this. I used to think nothing of dropping $5-10 per morning just on "breakfast", otherwise known as carb & sugar fest, with a lil caffeine mixed in to keep me awake since I was severely sleep deprived from sleep apnea. I catch myself complaining about how much money I'm spending on food now, and I have to stop and remind myself that I was spending just as much beforehand and it was slowly killing me. I'm sorry you're struggling and I hope things get easier!